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ABOUT THE GAS TAX: Rep. Earl Blumenauer wants to boost the gas tax by 15 cents a gallon — nearly doubling a rate that hasn’t changed in over 20 years — and index it to inflation so it doesn’t lose value over time. He also has a separate bill to pave the way for a VMT program down the road, but his broader goal is to kick-start the conversation over how to pay for next year’s transportation bill. Blumenauer has a lot of support from outside groups — the U.S. Chamber, AAA, ATA, unions and more all had reps at his event. But they don’t vote in Congress, and Blumenauer doesn’t have any Republicans (or fellow Democrats, for that matter) as a cosponsor. But not because the gas tax is so toxic that only one member supports boosting it. “There’s exactly no other cosponsors. And that’s deliberate,” Blumenauer said at the unveiling of his bills, adding that “a Republican pulled me aside on the House floor and said he’s really thinking about cosponsoring the bill. I said ‘wait a minute, hold on, let’s get this out and let’s see what we can do in terms of starting the conversation.’”

Anonymous confirmation: Your MT host had a mental short list of who that Republican lawmaker might be — and just happened to guess correctly on the first try. In a chat off the House floor, the GOP member confirmed his interest but said he’d have to deny it if it was ever printed with his name attached. What’s the point of this anonymous confirmation, you ask? It shows that while the gas tax is still a political landmine, it has more congressional support than you might think — definitely more than lawmakers are willing to admit in public.

Timely: Today the University of Virginia’s Miller Center puts out a report outlining how to achieve exactly what everyone agrees is needed: “A Blueprint for Federal Leadership.” Based on the talks at the David R. Goode National Transportation Policy Conference, including a panel of six former secretaries (refresher: http://politico.pro/1eR7M5x), the 70-page report outlines what’s needed to truly move the needle on transportation policy. There are seven key ways: “change the narrative … get creative on funding … leverage new technology … seize bipartisan opportunity … disentangle the system … engage the private sector,” and last but definitely not least, “lead the way, Mr. President.” Give it a look: http://bit.ly/IONmA7

THERE’S NO FISCAL CLIFF THIS YEAR: But that doesn’t mean there’s no year-end drama on Capitol Hill. Facing a deadline next Friday, Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan are working toward a budget deal that would lock in spending levels through 2015 and deal with the sequester’s automatic spending cuts. POLITICO’s own Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan report that “increasing fees on airline ticket purchases” is one of the revenue options. Their story has the broad context on the talks: http://politi.co/1iAumVq

Taxes don’t fly with airlines: Airlines have long been opposed to more ticket fees and have recently ramped up its effort by handing out info at the airport used by most member of Congress. “Let’s call this what it is — a tax increase on the backs of airline passengers who are already overtaxed,” Airlines for America said in a statement to MT. “Over the past four decades, the tax burden on a typical $300 round-trip ticket has nearly tripled from $22 to $61. Enough is enough. Implementing a permanent tax increase that would only provide temporary relief from scheduled spending cuts makes no sense, and merely kicks the can on our budget problems down the road. Why should one industry and its customers be singled out for more government spending? They shouldn’t.”

THIRSTY THURSDAY. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where on this day in 1970 the West Leg of the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago was opened by officials driving through a paper ribbon. Please send me your tips, news and insights: asnider@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @AdamKSnider.

METRO-NORTH UNDER SOME WATCHFUL EYES: From Kathryn’s Pro take on the FRA’s action after the Metro-North accident: “The specifics of what the feds asked MTA to do immediately, while clearly beneficial for safety, were not particularly startling. FRA directed MTA to create a confidential close call reporting system — something MTA says they were already in the process of implementing. The overall message from the administration, however, couldn’t have been more clear: We’re watching you, and looking for ways to flex our muscles if you can’t sort out your problems.” Full story: http://politico.pro/1gF1erP

Hudson Line at full strength today: After running only three trains in the morning rush yesterday, the line damaged by the Sunday crash is back to full strength today with six trains. Work included new ties, ballast, running rails, third rails and signal system, and was checked afterwards using ultrasonic tech.

‘A fine line’: ACRE’s Anthony Bottalico got his union kicked out of the investigation for talking about the investigation on Tuesday. He doesn’t seem too upset about it, though. “Sometimes you walk a fine line trying to represent your people and trying to be part of a committee investigating,” he’s quoted in a Bloomberg story (http://bloom.bg/1aAqx8Y). “Sometimes the NTSB has to do what it has to, and I respect that.”

HA HA HA: The gas tax can be a dull and dour topic, even for those of us seriously interested in it. But the Blumenauer presser yesterday had a few funny lines that would make former T&I Chairman John Mica proud. The first came from Blumenauer himself: “This is like what? A colonoscopy. Maybe you need to do it, but it’s not something that a lot of people volunteer and they want to talk about at cocktail parties.” And ARTBA head Pete Ruane joked about a new version of a little blue pill that’s become popular in the older male crowd: “I understand Amazon’s new drones will be delivering small package of courage pills to Pennsylvania Avenue and Capitol Hill before Dec. 13. … And by the way — tell Jeff Bezos they need to last longer than four hours.”

** A Message from Stop Air Tax Now: As part of a potential budget deal, Congress is seeking to double the TSA Passenger Security Tax! As if raising the cost of air travel were not bad enough, the funds collected would not be used to improve aviation security. It’s a classic bait and switch! **

ANOTHER BULLET FOR THE BULLET TRAIN: The Surface Transportation Board has denied a request to start construction on the Fresno-to-Bakersfield leg of California's high-speed rail project before environmental reviews were complete. The California High-Speed Rail Authority “has not presented any unique or compelling circumstances that demonstrate that a two-step decisional process is warranted,” the board wrote in a four-page decision (http://1.usa.gov/18muVIK). House T&I Railroads Chairman Jeff Denham jumped on the news, saying that it “is another major blow in a series of setbacks to the California project.” Between the STB ruling and the recent Sacramento judge’s move blocking bond sales and asking a new financing plan, there should be plenty to talk about at the panel’s hearing on the project next week. More from Denham: http://1.usa.gov/1cmqfXS

MAILBAG — Silver Line delay: Virginia Sen. Mark Warner has written MWAA about this week’s announcement of another Silver Line delay, saying the latest shift “follows an unsettling pattern of project delays.” Read his letter: http://politico.pro/19hFE7q

REPORT-ING FOR DUTY — A trio of transport reports: In the Public Interest has a new report looking at the downsides of privatization, including how Virginia’s HOT lanes on the Beltway can penalize taxpayers for carpooling (http://bit.ly/1cc9wD7). APTA’s new report looks at transportation needs for dense high-tech business hubs like Silicon Valley and South Lake Union in Seattle (http://bit.ly/1biwIP8). And the U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s offering looks at the changing transportation patterns in big U.S. cities, finding a 7.6 percent drop in VMT since the 2004 peak (http://bit.ly/1cYWaM6).

- Some Amtrak stations are still wheelchair inaccessible 23 years after the ADA. My Door Sign: http://bit.ly/IFfB3c

- The Anne Arundel County Public School System might have the first ever high school class on drones. http://bit.ly/1g8we69

THE COUNTDOWN: Surface transportation policy is up in 300 days and FAA policy in 665 days. The mid-term elections are in 334 days. DOT appropriations run out in 42 days.

CABOOSE — Trucks only, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.: Sick of the black and white pictures of trains, cars, ships and more? Suggest something else you’d like to see in the MT caboose. But until then — here’s an October 1941 shot of trucks at a highway stop en route to Utica, N.Y. Shorpy: http://bit.ly/1bJv2En

** A Message from Stop Air Tax Now: Passengers and airlines already pay 17 federal aviation taxes annually, which totaled $19 billion last year. The federal tax bite on a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket is now $62, or 21 percent of the total ticket price. Higher taxes drive up the cost of air travel for our customers and dampen demand, which hurts the economy, jobs and reduces air service to communities. A4A, labor and consumer groups have joined together to oppose this unfair and unwarranted tax hikes. Let Congress and the President know that you oppose the proposed increases to the TSA Passenger Security Tax. Go to stopairtaxnow.com to let your voices be heard — loud and clear — and to stay updated on our progress.**